


Convincing Charles

by Gerec



Series: XMA AU [2]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 01:45:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7598650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gerec/pseuds/Gerec
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A stranger promises Charles the only thing he craves - his <i>family</i>, all of them once again, by his side.</p><p>An XMA AU, set during the DOFP timeline.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Convincing Charles

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this to explore the idea of an XMA au that takes place during the DOFP timeline where Charles is still on the serum and not a very happy camper. How would things be different if Apocalypse had woken up then? With Erik in jail and Raven gone, and no time travelling Logan? What if Apocalypse came looking for Charles to make him a Horseman???
> 
> This takes place immediately following my fic ['Seducing Charles' ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5699965) which I didn't intend to be a prequel to this story, but ended up being a perfect segue :D

There is someone else in the room with him, when he wakes up from his dream.

For a moment he thinks it might be _Erik_ , though he dismisses the idea quickly enough. Because the real Erik would never come for him, would he, and speak words of love and forgiveness? No, the real Erik left long ago and took his sister away; left Charles, broken and bleeding on the sand without so much as a backwards glance.

The one in his dreams isn’t real either, because _that_ Erik _loves_ Charles and would never leave him. Nothing more than a sad illusion born from a foolish and broken heart.

And Charles hates himself a little more every day; that he can’t just _forget_ , and bury the past where it belongs.

“Hank?” he mutters, throwing an arm over his eyes to block out the light that’s streaming in through the window. “Hank, didn’t I say not to touch the bloody curtains? It’s too bright in here!”

He hears movement, a body crossing the room slowly, deliberately, to sit next to him on the bed, a weight that holds none of the careful familiarity he’s used to from his friend. And when he opens his eyes he finds himself staring up in shock – there’s a man, a _mutant,_ with blue skin and dressed in some kind of hooded armor – looking down at him with a patient smile.

Charles knows him immediately; recognizes him as the presence in his dream, the man posing as Erik, promising…

He pushes up onto his elbows and drags himself into a sitting position, only peripherally aware that the serum must have worn off since he can’t feel his legs. _Who are you? How did you get in? What do you want?_ – all come to mind as he glares at the intruder; instead, he leans forward to look the man in the eye and snaps, “Where’s Hank? What did you do to him?”

“Peace, Charles,” the man answers, his voice deceptively soft and placating. “Dr. McCoy is merely occupied at the moment. I have no intention of harming either one of you. You’re perfectly safe with me.”

He scoffs, and runs a hand through his tangled hair. “I would ask how you know my name but I know it was you in my head. Whatever it is you want, I’m not interested. Now, kindly get the fuck out of my house.”

“Now, now,” the man tsks, his tone paternal and a touch condescending, making Charles’ hackles rise. “So angry, my child, and so very, very hurt. But I am not your enemy, whatever you may think of my unexpected arrival. I’m here to help you, and to heal you.”

Charles rolls his eyes, and laughs. “Is that your mutation then? You can give me back my legs? Or make the voices stop? Are you a god, come to save me from my own hell?”

The man – _En Sabah Nur_ – whispers in his head, and Charles jerks in surprise at the sudden and rather intimate revelation of the mutant’s name. “How did you…are you a telepath?”

“My gifts are many, and I have known others with wondrous and fascinating gifts too. Yet in all my lifetimes I have never met anyone quite like _you_ , Charles. So much power, so much… _potential_. I want you to join me, and I promise…together, we can make the world a better place.”

He shakes his head, throwing it back against the headboard with a bitter laugh. “What makes you think I’d be interested? I don’t give a fuck about the world; it’s messed up and nothing I’ve ever done has made the slightest bit of difference! All I have to show for my trouble is this empty house and my empty life! Please spare me any more of your grand speech; I told you, I don’t want anything you have to offer.”

En Sabah Nur smiles. “Oh you do, Charles,” he replies, as the door opens seemingly on cue, and someone new and wholly unexpected steps into the room. “I’ve been inside your mind, I know what it is you crave. You want your _family_ , by your side. All of you, happy, together again. I can make it happen, Charles. I can bring them all home.”

Charles is speechless, too stunned to do anything but stare. _Sean Cassidy_ – Sean, who was supposed to be _dead_ , killed in a terrible accident according to his family – is standing in his bedroom, very much alive and sporting that oh so familiar smirk on his face. Sean – whose unexpected death had dealt another blow to Charles’ heart, another tragic loss in a series of devastating losses –

“Hey Prof,” the would-be ghost says with a grin, though his gaze is harder and far icier than Charles remembers. “I’m home.”


End file.
